Building a healthy relationship with food starts with what you buy.
It's tougher to eat foods you shouldn't if they're not in the fridge and pantry to begin with. The occasional treat aside, mindful grocery shopping is a practice you can use to set yourself up for success. Combined with mindful eating, shopping with the intent to support your health goals has an even more profound effect.
While mindful eating is typically a well-known concept, you may not be familiar with what mindful grocery shopping is. Mindful eating means paying close attention to how you eat -being aware of your hunger, fullness, and the taste and texture of your food. Mindful grocery shopping extends this awareness to the store, helping you buy groceries intentionally and strategically.
Meal planning is a part of a mindful strategy, but buying a variety of foods is also important. Your goal is to cut down on making impulse decisions and fill your cart with nutrient-dense foods. Then, you can create well-balanced meals out of the items you bring home. Budgets and research also cover the basics of mindful grocery shopping. But before you make your list and check it twice, let's learn a little more about those basics.
Meal Planning
Going to the store without a plan is like taking a college final without studying. If you have an excellent memory, you might sail through just fine. But the deck is stacked against you. You're probably not going to remember everything you need, and you'll likely end up with more of what you don't. It'll be challenging to make meals that support building a healthier relationship with food.
Planning your meals ahead of time identifies what foods you need while eliminating those you don't. Meal planning also helps you stick to a cart full of whole and minimally processed items. Researching recipes online and in cookbooks can introduce variety if you're tired of the same dishes. If you want to automate the meal planning and selection process, try a healthy grocery delivery service.
Plug in how many people are in your household, how many weekly meals you need, and any dietary preferences. You'll receive whole and minimally processed foods aligned with your nutrition goals. These services also give you access to recipes, letting you try a variety of new dishes and return to old favorites. Plus, you won't be tempted by a grocery store's shelves since your food will be delivered to you.
Use a Six-To-One Framework
Some people don't mind taking their time in a grocery store. They shop slowly, lingering to examine labels and check prices on different brands. Others want to get in and get out. They don't want to get caught up in the noise. This group is more likely to find shopping to be overstimulating, perhaps even stressful.
If this sounds like you, it can be helpful to approach shopping with the six-to-one framework. It's a tool to guide what type of foods you buy on each trip. The framework helps you stick to the perimeter of the store, where most of the nutrient-dense items are. A six-to-one framework has you hitting up the produce section for six vegetables and five fruits.
After getting your produce, you pick four proteins. Your proteins could be meats or plant-based sources like beans. You then move on to choosing three starches or carbs, such as brown rice. Finally, you wrap it up with two sauces or spreads and one treat.
The framework's not meant to be restrictive, as you can modify it to your situation and each trip. But it does provide a guideline for people who don't know where to start when it comes to meal planning. Furthermore, it takes some of the stress out of grocery shopping since you're mostly sticking to specific sections of the store.
Research Prices
Across the country, grocery prices are a concern for most households. During the 2024 election, seven in 10 voters expressed concerns about what they're paying at the grocery store. While it's common knowledge that various stores can charge different prices for the same items, price points can also vary by community. A chain may charge higher prices in one city and lower prices at its store seven miles down the road.
Supply and demand can dictate these discrepancies, as can income-driven buying preferences in an area. Although it may take a bit more work at first, it pays to research prices between stores and nearby locations. You may also have certain stores nearby that offer discounted prices on surplus items. These grocery stores or chains purchase overstock and short-dated items from distributors. The stores may also accept food from other chains that have too much inventory.
Comparison shopping will help you shop for healthier foods while sticking to your budget. Look for sales and see which store has better deals for most items on your list. It may not make sense to go from store to store in one week. However, it could benefit you during the month or year if you're willing to change where you shop from week to week.
Putting Mindful Grocery Shopping To Work
Building a healthy relationship with food involves listening to your body's cues, achieving balance, and choosing preferences with some degree of flexibility. Mindful grocery shopping fits into these guidelines by allowing you to plan and shop for well-thought-out, but adaptable meals. The practice isn't an exact science, yet that's the point.
By thinking through what foods will benefit your body, you can experiment with the actual selection and source. Your method may be different than a friend or co-worker working toward the same goal. Whether you choose grocery delivery or use the six-to-one framework at a store, you'll become more mindful about what you buy and why.
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